MANILA, Philippines — Meralco will be imposing a rate increase this month that will see an additional P27 in the bills of those consuming 200-kilowatt hours a month, who comprise two-thirds of the utility’s customer base.
Meralco attributed the P0.1338 increase to higher generation and transmission charges, as well as taxes and other expenses.
(To compute the increase for 200/KwH a month, P0.1338 x 200 = P26.70)
It added that rates may further increase next month even as spot market prices are sliding.
But because August is also the month Meralco applies the last tranche of the P6.9-billion refund it began implementing in June, rates will remain below P9 a kilowatt-hour. The refund covers the over-recovery of pass-through charges from 2014 to 2016.
MERALCO AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL RATES:
- March – P9.67/KwH
- April – P9.69/ KwH
- May – P9.60/ KwH
- June – P8.18/ KwH
- July – P8.25/ KwH
- August – P8.38/ KwH
However, once the refund ends, should the additional charge next month go over a peso, rates are likely to return to more than P9/KwH, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.
“This is the last time we will be enjoying the low rates as far as the cost of electricity is concerned so medyo kailangan lang po natin paghandaan … na (we need to prepare … that) by September we go back already to the normal range of the 9-peso mark as far as rates are concerned,” he said.
Meralco closed out the first half of the year with profits slipping 3% on lower contributions from its non-electric subsidiaries.
